


Repentance

by SheepPrincess



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 21:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30061734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheepPrincess/pseuds/SheepPrincess
Summary: As darkness rises up to devour the light, the light's few remaining guardians prepare to defend it... and to repent for their previous failures.
Kudos: 2





	Repentance

Yen Sid regarded the young man sitting at the other side of his desk curiously. The sorcerer took a sip of his tea while the boy stared wordlessly at his. With unkempt brown hair, an old beat-up black leather jacket, and scars that hadn’t finished healing, to say the boy looked rough was an understatement. It was hard to even guess his age, but Yen Sid guessed he was in his early twenties.

It had been some time since anyone besides King Mickey had visited the tower; Yen Sid had become convinced that no one else remembered that it existed. But then this boy appeared, looking like he had seen horrors beyond words, piloting a gummi ship that could barely fly, and asked for the sorcerer by name. He hadn’t come here by accident.

Yen Sid set his tea down and folded his hands. “So then, young man, what brings you to this place? You may stay as long as you need to, of course, but it seems obvious that you came for a specific purpose.”

“Yes,” the boy said. “You see, my world… our world… was attacked, and probably destroyed.”

Yen Sid sat up a little straighter. “Destroyed? How so?”

“We were attacked by these… strange creatures. There were a bunch of different kinds, but they all had the same glowing yellow eyes. They came from Villain’s Vale and started destroying the town and… and killing anyone they could catch. None of our weapons would do much against them, and even when we did destroy one, it just reformed again. Magic worked against them, but there were too many of them and too few of us that knew how to use magic. We couldn’t fight them all. I’m… I  _ was  _ a trainee with the town’s defenders, and I tried to hold them back to protect the others, but… there was nowhere to hide from them, and we couldn’t stop them. People were dying and there was nothing we could do about it!”

The young man took a few moments to compose himself. Yen Sid closed his eyes in concentration. He had sensed something terrible had happened, but he didn’t imagine it was on a scale such as this. Finally, his guest continued: “One of our friends had built a gummi ship, and when it became obvious that our options were run or die… he gathered up the few of us that were left, and we ran. There were only six of us. I… I only survived because I turned and ran from the front lines. People who were twice the fighter that I was were dying, and I was scared. The monsters attacked our ship on the way out and it took some heavy damage, but we managed to limp to this place, Traverse Town, which looked like it had been abandoned… but it was safe.” 

The pieces were starting to come together for Yen Sid. “I see. Your world was Radiant Garden then, correct?” The young man looked surprised, but nodded. “I suspected something befell that place. I sent my apprentice to investigate, but before that, I sent him to Traverse Town, the place where many lost souls in need of shelter find themselves. And you met him there, I presume.”

“That’s right. Mickey. He made sure we were safe, told us about the keyblade and his training. He said he’d do what he could to find and help any other survivors.”

“And he told you to seek me out?” Yen Sid asked.

“Well… no. In fact, he told us all to stay put. But I did some research in some books I found at Traverse Town. I put two and two together and realized that the keyblade is probably the best way to fight those monsters, and thanks to Mickey, I know that you not only once wielded a keyblade, but you were a keyblade  _ master. _ ”

Yen Sid smiled. “Clever deductions. A reckless plan, but clever. You and Mickey have that in common. So, you seek my help?” His guest nodded, and Yen Sid stood and looked out the window of his tower. “Unfortunately, if it’s a keyblade master you seek, I’m afraid your search will lead you nowhere. I departed from the path of the keyblade many years ago to follow the path of the sorcerer. Mickey is currently the only keyblade master I can locate, and his training was less than typical. The old ways of the keyblade are all but a lost art.”

“That’s what I thought,” the young man replied, “and that’s why I came here instead of just having Mickey carry a message to you. I want you to teach me to use the keyblade too.”

Yen Sid raised an eyebrow and looked over his guest again, more critically this time. He had been lost in thought before, no doubt still reliving the fate of his world, but determination burned in his eyes now. “What you ask is no small feat. To begin with, it takes a great deal of dedication and discipline to even be prepared to  _ receive _ the keyblade. And even if one accomplishes this first step, you must understand that the keyblade chooses its wielder. Another wielder may make a… recommendation of sorts, but ultimately only fate can decide if one should wield this weapon. One could train for years, devote themselves to their studies, live a life defending the light and combating the darkness, and still never be deemed capable to wield a keyblade.”

“I didn’t figure it would be easy. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

Yen Sid thought for a few moments. “Tell me, why exactly is it that you want to become a keyblade wielder? Is it for revenge against those that destroyed your home?”

The young man shook his head. “Not revenge. More… repentance. I failed to protect the people and the place I was responsible for, that I cared for. I gave in to fear and ran away when I should have stayed and fought, and bought more people a chance to escape. It’s not the memory of those monsters that keeps me up at night, it’s the knowledge that I failed when I absolutely couldn’t afford to fail, and it cost people their lives. I need to be better than that, for the sake of the few people who are left. I need to be a person who can stand and fight and protect others, not run away.”

Yen Sid sat back down and folded his hands in thought. “Darkness takes many forms in the heart. Though you may not be burdened by thoughts of revenge, the darkness may yet creep in through your guilt and your fear of further failure. However… these things can be worked through. Wounds such as that can heal. What is your name, young man?”

“Squa-” He stopped himself and sighed. “No… Leon.” Yen Sid raised an eyebrow. “I can’t be the same man I was before, not until I set things right. I need to… to reinvent myself and be better. So I’ll start with my name.”

“As you wish. Young Leon… the path you seek will be difficult, and even should you excel in every step, I cannot guarantee results. But if this is your desire, then I will do all in my power to guide you.”

Leon’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, master. You won’t regret it. So, will you need to test my combat abilities?”

Yen Sid shook his head, stood, and walked over to one of his many bookshelves. “Your strength in combat will mean little if your mind isn’t up to the task. The keyblade is concerned only with the contents of one’s heart, and purity of heart is influenced greatly by clarity of mind. So for the time being…” He set the book down on the desk. “You will only need to concern yourself with studying, both for vital knowledge… and for discipline, because to be perfectly honest, some of these books are rather dry.”

Leon looked significantly less excited about that, but he nodded. Yen Sid gestured to the door to the side of his study. “You may make use of the room there for resting and studying.”

***

“So Radiant Garden has fallen, then?”

“It looks that way,” Mickey replied mournfully. “I looked everywhere, but there wasn't anyone left. Not even any bodies, just the monsters. But the world itself wasn't swallowed by the darkness like we thought would happen. Just… emptied.”

“Then it appears the monsters are more intelligent than we first thought. Either that, or they have a leader. If the world were consumed entirely, they would destroy their point of entry into the realm of light. But they have made certain to leave their doorway open, making that hollow world a bastion in which to gather and breed, and eventually… they will spread from it.”

“They don't seem smart enough to build or fly a gummi ship,” Mickey argued. “But if they  _ do  _ have a leader…”

“They will find a way eventually, and then all worlds are in danger. These creatures appear to be pure darkness, and their hunger will not end until all light is consumed. We must find a solution quickly.”

“Well, if it's just a matter of the door between our world and the realm of darkness being open, why not just find that door and close it? I've got the keyblade, we can lock it and make sure it won't be opened again!”

“The same thought occurred to me, and I do believe that sealing the door to the darkness should be our top priority. However, a gateway such as this does not behave in quite the same way as a normal door. If it is not locked from  _ both _ sides, these dark creatures will simply be able to open it again from the side which is not locked. And this doorway is the only reliable passage between realms I am aware of, so one could not simply lock it from one side, travel to the other realm and lock the other. We need a key on both sides.”

“And we only have one… Boy, I sure wish we could find our other friends. We need them more than ever right now… What else can we do? Do we need to try and find other people who might be able to wield a keyblade?”

Yen Sid nodded. “We will need at least one more wielder to deal with this crisis, and we cannot count on finding any of Eraqus’s missing pupils in time. Fortunately, we've had one volunteer already. One of the survivors of Radiant Garden.” He stood, walked over to the door to the side and knocked. “Leon! Come out for a moment.”

He heard shuffling in the other room, and his new student stepped out. “Yes, what is it?” The young man's eyes moved to Yen Sid's original apprentice. “Mickey! It's good to see you again.”

Mickey grinned and nodded. “So, ya decided to try and use the keyblade too? I guess you would know better than anyone how bad it is out there, so we appreciate the help!”

“I just hope it works. I've seen well enough that nothing but the keyblade will keep those monsters down.”

Yen Sid nodded and turned back to Mickey. “Did you find any signs of your friend Ansem in Radiant Garden? I recall he was conducting research into the nature of the heart; if he still lives, he could provide us some insight.”

“I didn't, but… I caught a look at his journal. The monsters found their way to me and I had to leave in a hurry, so I wasn't able to bring it with me, but… I couldn’t believe what I read. His reports detailed experiments he conducted on people’s hearts, and… and apparently the creatures that overran Radiant Garden were his fault. The report called those creatures “the heartless” and said that the pure-blooded ones are born from the darkness in people’s hearts, which he brought out. Some of them were also created artificially while he was studying the effects of the darkness outside of the heart.”

“That’s impossible,” Leon said firmly. “The Ansem I knew would never pursue his research that far. The minute he realized people could be in danger, he would stop.”

“That’s my thinkin’ too,” Mickey replied. “When I met with him, we talked about his research about the heart so far, and he seemed totally set on not pushing things that far. I even heard him tell one of his apprentices so. The man I met would  _ never  _ let this happen. But… the report matches what we know happened. It didn’t talk about the attack, but it’s not hard to guess how things connect.”

“If he created these ‘heartless’ from captive and created hearts,” Yen Sid said, “and control of them was lost, then it is highly likely that they reached the heart of the world and tore it open. And instead of consuming it… they made it into a gateway so that more of their kind could enter our world.”

“But wait,” Leon said, “what about Ansem? It  _ can’t  _ have been him that conducted these experiments or wrote that report… can it? I mean, sure, it had been a while since anyone saw him leave the castle, but…”

“For the time being,” Yen Sid replied, “we can only make plans based on the information we have. If we can find Ansem again, we can ask him what truly occurred, but whoever or whatever caused the door to the dark realm to be opened, whatever force brought the heartless into the realm of light, the fact that we must address the problem remains unchanged. We must find or create a second keyblade wielder and seal the door for good.”

***

“I am happy to see the three of you again,” Yen Sid said, sighing into his folded hands, “but I regret deeply that it must be under these circumstances.”

Before his desk stood there diminutive women dressed in red, blue and green respectively. Their clothing was immaculate as always, but their eyes told the story of what happened well enough.

“Oh, it was just awful!” Flora said. “We did our best to drive those monsters from our world-”

“And we did quite the job of it, too!” Fauna chimed in. “They were no match for our magic, and prince Phillip fought twice as hard as any of us, but-”

“But the heartless had help,” Merryweather concluded. “It didn’t matter how hard we fought, because that awful witch Maleficent was throwing open the doors and bringing more and more of them in! And they listened to whatever she told them to do!”

“Maleficent was always the arrogant and headstrong one,” Yen Sid said gravely. “No doubt she believes she can fully control the heartless and this new darkness encroaching on the worlds. It’s very likely that she will eventually become consumed by this darkness as well, but I have no doubt that she will wreak a great deal of havoc before that time comes… so, my friends, your world has fallen completely then?”

“We watched it get ripped apart even while we tried to hold it together,” Fauna said, teary-eyed.

“What of princess Aurora? Even if the world itself fell to darkness, her heart of pure light would prevent her from being lost. Do you know where she is?”

“Well…” Merryweather replied, “Last we saw, Maleficent captured her in the chaos and ran away before the world fell apart. Prince Phillip chased after them, but… we haven’t found any sign of them since.”

Yen Sid closed his eyes in thought. “Regrettably, I cannot speak to the fate of the prince, but I have confidence that Maleficent is too cunning to fall so easily, and she knows the value Aurora holds. The princess will not be harmed as long as she can be of use to the witch. But I’m afraid her dark designs run deeper than simply Aurora’s heart. As you know, she was already aware of the existence of the seven Princesses of Heart when she last tried to control Aurora’s heart some years ago. But at that time, she had no way of traveling between worlds to collect the other six, and we believe she attempted to make use of an underling. But now… the barriers between worlds have been shattered by the heartless, and she realizes that she can travel freely between them. I have received word from another associate, the Fairy Godmother, and she had a similar story to tell. Her world has fallen to the darkness as well, and the princess Cinderella has been taken. It is highly likely that Maleficent or an associate of hers was responsible.”

“Then we need to find the other princesses right away so we can protect them!” Flora said. “Do, um… do you know who the others are?”

Yen Sid shook his head. “We have a few potential candidates, and I have reached out to some other associates to help protect them. But we cannot be certain. We know of one other, Snow White, but her world was gone by the time my apprentice could go to investigate. As for the other four, I am doing all I can to find them, but we simply don’t have enough people to conduct a thorough search. I believe the princess Ariel may be a potential candidate, and if so, her father Triton is more than equal to the task of protecting her. But I cannot be certain.”

“Well, that leaves four,” Merryweather said, “and if we can even guarantee the safety of just one, then we can keep Maleficent from having that kind of power, and buy time for us to be able to save the others!”

“How many allies do we have?” Flora asked.

Yen Sid sighed and shook his head. “Too few. I can do little but advise and plan any longer. My apprentice Mickey is a capable keyblade master in his own right, and he is doing his utmost to help, but he is only one person. And as the keyblade is the only weapon capable of truly dispelling the darkness, my other contacts are limited in their ability to help.”

“Well,” Flora continued, “weren’t there other keyblade wielders before? We met a couple of them a few years ago, the last time Maleficent tried this.”

“You refer to Ventus, Aqua and Terra,” Yen Sid concluded. “I would dearly appreciate their help in this crisis, but alas, the three of them have been missing for several years. Our best efforts have uncovered no trace of their whereabouts. So given that we cannot rely on our old allies to reappear in time, we have set out to find new ones. I have been instructing a young man in the ways of the keyblade for a few months now, and although he has yet to obtain one, he has made considerable progress in his studies. I had hoped to continue teaching him, but if the situation has grown this dire, perhaps we will need to redirect our efforts…”

Yen Sid stood from his desk. “Perhaps it is time to test the young man’s abilities, and determine whether continuing down this path is a worthy venture.”

***

The three fairies and Yen Sid stood at the steps of the tower, with Leon and Mickey standing at opposite ends of the small field of grass. The expanse of space swirled gently all around the island and tower as always.

Leon exhaled, closed his eyes and held out his hand. Yen Sid could see the focus on the boy's face as he recalled all his teachings and tried to call upon a keyblade. But around a minute passed and no keyblade appeared. 

“Very well,” Yen Sid said, “we shall try another method. Oftentimes the keyblade will appear in response to a suitable wielder becoming endangered, especially in combat. But the keyblade cannot differentiate between a real battle and a heated sparring session, so we will attempt to draw it out that way. Leon, Mickey… please hold nothing back in this clash. Fight with your full strength, in the hope of bringing out even further strength in one another.”

Mickey reached out a hand to his side, and his keyblade materialized in a flash of light. Leon drew the gunblade from his hip and took a ready stance. The two stared each other down for a few moments, then Mickey attacked. He came swinging at Leon at an angle that didn’t leave much of a window for a counterattack, but Leon stood his ground until the last moment. Only when Mickey was too close to adjust his course did Leon act, diving to the side and rolling back to his feet, and he leveled his gunblade at the keyblade master. 

“Fire!” Leon shouted, and a ball of flame erupted from the hilt of his sword, traveled up the blade and launched at Mickey.

“Freeze!” Mickey shouted back, twisting around and pointing his keyblade. A mass of ice formed in the air and collided with Leon’s fire, and the two attacks exploded against each other in a burst of steam, embers and shards of ice. 

Leon rushed through the cloud, lunging at Mickey with both hands on the handle of his blade. Mickey deflected the attack, but Leon stayed on the offensive, swinging hard and fast enough to keep his opponent off-balance. He managed to push Mickey to the edge of the island, but before Leon could swing again, Mickey leaped into the air and clear over Leon’s head. 

Mickey twisted around mid-air, pointed his keyblade at Leon, and exclaimed “Gravity!” The air around Leon grew dark, and he felt his whole body get heavier, rooting him to the spot. He prepared to launch another spell, but Mickey was faster. The diminutive master landed on his feet, spun around, and shouted “freeze!” once again.

The shards of ice scattered from Mickey’s previous attack erupted from the ground in great pillars, and Leon was knocked into the air with a cry. He landed roughly in front of the tower and pushed himself to his hands and knees. A keyblade hadn’t appeared for him yet, but he hadn’t pushed himself to the limit of his strength yet, either. He stood, gripped his gunblade with both hands, and channeled energy through the weapon. The blade became wrapped in brilliant blue light, and the energy spread beyond the metal, doubling the size of the blade without affecting its weight, and leaving it thrumming with power. 

Yen Sid raised an eyebrow in interest. This was a technique he had not seen before. Leon had clearly done his own research and experimentation on how to apply what he had learned to his unique weapon. Having caught his second wind, Leon rushed forward, and he caught Mickey off-guard with his sword’s extended reach. Mickey was able to block a few of his attacks, but was thoroughly off-balance. 

Taking advantage of his momentum, Leon pointed his sword at the ground beneath Mickey’s feet and launched a volley of fireballs, which knocked Mickey into the air. Leon followed up with a strike from below, launching him much higher. Before Mickey had finished his ascent, Leon ran toward the tower and jumped just before he reached it. His foot hit the wall just right, and he kicked himself forward further into a vertical run up the side of the tower, using a technique that had taken him months to master.

He kicked off the wall once he was high up enough, and swung at Mickey midair. The two exchanged a flurry of blows as they descended, the last of which knocked them away from each other. Both leveled their blades at one another, and in unison shouted “Thunder!”

The sky darkened as bolts of electricity arced from both swords and wrapped around the pair. They hung in the air for a moment before the energy from the attacks threw them both against the ground, kicking up grass and dirt where they landed. Both lay twitching for a few moments, but Mickey was able to pull himself to his feet first, while Leon struggled to pull himself to a sitting position.

“That is enough,” Yen Sid said as he walked over to Leon and helped him up. Once Leon could stand again, he leaned against the wall of the tower in thought. 

“I guess that’s our answer,” he said. “Guess I knew a while ago, but just… didn’t want to admit it.”

“It is difficult to predict who the keyblades will accept as a wielder,” Yen Sid consoled him. “Even the staunchest allies of the light often do not receive one, and I have seen souls troubled by darkness rooted deep in their hearts become wielders all the same. Ultimately, I believe the keyblades choose their owners based on whether they can withstand the fate that wielding one will write for them. You, Leon… None here can doubt your dedication and strength. I believe the only reason you have not received a keyblade is that fate has other plans for you.”

Leon looked to the side, clearly disappointed, but nodded ever so slightly. “Even without one, I’m not going to stop fighting. Maybe I can’t kill the heartless forever without a keyblade, but they sure don’t like the power of light. Now that I can use that… I can at least fight them off.”

“Precisely. The light has many allies, and not all of them wield the keyblade. We shall need every ally at our disposal to help deal with this coming crisis. So then… What will you do? Will you continue your studies here?”

Leon pushed himself off of the wall. “I think it would be more productive for me to head back to Traverse Town. I’ll keep reading books and sparring with the others there to stay sharp and see if I can learn new techniques, but if Traverse Town is the place where people end up when their worlds collapse… it’s going to have a lot of refugees soon, people that need protecting. It might just be where we finally launch a real counterattack against the darkness. So… that’s where I need to be.”

“It was great to have you here, Leon!” Mickey said, shaking his hand. “I think I learned a thing or two, too!”

“Stay vigilant, young warrior,” Yen Sid said. “I am sure we will need help from you and your friends soon enough.”

***

Yen Sid’s eyes flew open as his dream cemented itself in his memory. He replayed it in his mind a few times to make certain what he had seen, then rose from his bed and donned his robe.

“Mickey!” he said, using magic to project his voice and be heart by his apprentice, wherever he was. “Meet me in the study!”

He made his way up the stairs and through the hidden doors in the space-bending passages of the tower, arriving in the study only a few moments before Mickey did.

“What’s goin’ on?” Mickey asked, yawning. “Did something happen?”

“I believe something will happen soon,” Yen Sid corrected. “I received a vision, and its meaning seems clear.” He sat in his chair, and Mickey sat opposite him. “I saw an island, a tiny world still untouched by any others. As I watched from a distance, the sky and ocean grew dark, shadow threatening to swallow the world. And then… I saw three figures on the beach. Three figures we know very well.”

Mickey’s eyes lit up. “Terra, Aqua and Ven, right? You think that island is where they are?”

Yen Sid shook his head. “I do not think so. The three were obscured by the darkness, locked away beyond reach. I do not believe they are in a place we can reach at this time. But… each of them opened their hands, and released a ball of light. These three lights shone bright enough to illuminate the ruins of the island, and brighter still until the vision faded completely.”

“I see…” Mickey murmured, a hand to his chin. “Well, that sounds to me like those three managed to pass their light on to three other folks, one way or another!”

“My thoughts exactly. The fate of that island, however, tells me that time is now of the essence. If that world is not already lost, it will certainly be soon, and those three new lights will be ejected from it. We must be ready to find them, because it is highly likely that at least one of them will be the second keyblade wielder we have been seeking. Tell me, Mickey, are your preparations complete?”

Mickey nodded. “I’m ready to go where I need to, and I made sure a couple of my friends at the castle would be ready when something happened. They don’t know about what’s going on yet, but my court wizard Donald and knight captain Goofy are up to the job.”

“Excellent,” Yen Sid said, standing from his chair. “Please write to them and tell them to travel to Traverse Town. Tell them to seek out our friend Leon, and with his help, find the keyblade’s new chosen one. Contact any others you think may be able to help them as well. I will write to Leon and tell him to be alert to any newcomers to Traverse Town. Once our allies are ready… it will be time to ensure we can seal the door to darkness, which means finding a stable way to enter the realm of darkness. I am ashamed to ask such a task of my apprentice instead of taking it on myself, but…”

“Don’t worry, master Yen Sid! I’ll be all right. As long as I’ve got the keyblade, the darkness in that place won’t stop me, and I know there’ll always be a way back to the light!”

Yen Sid smiled and nodded. “Then you are ready.” Mickey departed to his chamber to write his letters, and Yen Sid sat back down at his desk. “The game truly begins now… But I have to wonder if this is all an experiment gone out of control, or even a scheme orchestrated by the witch Maleficent… It all seems too well coordinated, more so than she could manage alone. I wonder if there is another playing puppet master in all of this. Mickey, Leon, our lost friends… and our new ones. May we all meet again in the light when this battle concludes. May we all repent for our past failures… and may our hearts be our guiding keys.”

**Author's Note:**

> Mainly motivated by the thought of "why do the Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts 1 know ANYTHING about the keyblade?" From there, I decided to take a shot at filling in some blanks!


End file.
